◈ NOIR REEL ENGINE · v0.3 ◈

A reproducible engine for daily cinematic reels.

Plug variables into a master template. Chain Grok for stills, Veo 3.1 for motion, a Stoic monologue formula for the script. 30 minutes from cold start to shipped reel — same pipeline, different outputs every day.

◈ PIPELINE ◈

Four stages, one command away from ship.

generate.py → grok.py (still) → veo.py (mp4) → edit · publish

A rolled prompt flows downstream as a shared source of truth. Grok-2-Image renders the noir still. Veo 3.1 animates it into an 8-second 1080p clip with synced audio. The final edit adds typography and a visual anchor — a recurring geometric light, uniform, or color flash that makes the work read as a series, not stock clips.

◈ ARCHITECTURE ◈

Three pillars.

PILLAR 01

Variable Menu

Six axes — shot type, action, environment, lighting, color palette, texture. One pick from each column produces a unique-but-on-brand prompt. No blank page. No style drift.

PILLAR 02

Visual Anchor

A recurring signature in every reel: faint hexagonal light pattern, black turtleneck uniform, or teal-to-cyan grade flash on the final frame. Turns individual reels into a legible body of work.

PILLAR 03

Stoic Scripting Formula

Every monologue: Cold Truth → Silent War → Dominance. 15–25 seconds. Measured. Built for interior narration over a silent cut, not a pitch.

◈ STOIC FORMULA — EXAMPLE ◈

"The Long Game."

01 · COLD TRUTH

Everyone wants the result. Almost nobody wants the seven years it takes to look like an overnight success.

02 · SILENT WAR

The grind isn't loud. It's not motivational. It's a decision you make every morning that nobody is going to clap for.

03 · DOMINANCE

Clap or don't. I'm not stopping.

◈ QUICK START ◈

From zero to mp4.

cd noir-reel-engine

# Roll a prompt + Stoic monologue
python3 generate.py --seed 1000

# Render a video (requires GEMINI_API_KEY)
export GEMINI_API_KEY="..."
python3 generate.py --prompt-only --seed 1000 --no-aspect | python3 veo.py

# Image-to-video for character consistency (requires XAI_API_KEY)
export XAI_API_KEY="..."
PROMPT=$(python3 generate.py --seed 1000 --prompt-only --no-aspect | tail -n +2)
python3 grok.py --prompt "$PROMPT" --out builds/still.png
python3 veo.py --prompt "$PROMPT" --image builds/still.png

# Plan 30 days at a time
python3 plan.py --start 2026-05-01 --days 30

The source lives in /noir-reel-engine/ in the repo. Scripts, variable library, monologue bank, daily blueprints, and the 30-day plan are all committed alongside each other so a fresh clone is a working studio.